Master classes to be held at Henley Africa October 7 to 11 October 2019- Professor Patricia Riddell

ARE you stressed to the point of feeling ill? Overworked and overwhelmed? Constantly making the wrong decisions? Self-confidence at its lowest ebb? If you can tick any of these boxes, maybe you should be seriously considering signing up for one of Henley Africa’s three masterclass programmes in October.

Groundbreaking British neuroscientist Professor Patricia Riddell will be presenting a two-day session on Stress Resilience and Emotional Regulation (October 7-8); a day-long dynamic workshop exploring the Neuroscience of Confidence (October 9) and then two days on Decision Making and Planning (October 10-11).

“I haven’t come across any organisation where people don’t feel they’re being asked to do more with less,” she says, “but understanding what happens to your brain when you are put under stress can be really helpful in finding ways to control it.”

Many work places are becoming like warzones, the fact that companies want their staff to be more resilient almost suggests that employers instinctively know they’re creating a traumatic and toxic workplace.

Understanding the neurological impact; the importance of setting boundaries and the critical ability to be able to ask for help can provide a vital tool in improving productivity rather than sparking workplace paralysis.

Confidence is another key factor for everyone – especially since we are actually often our own worst enemies as we struggle to cope with an increasingly stressful world only to fail.

“This is not a knowledge transfer exercise for me,” says Riddell, “I only teach things that give people a direct benefit immediately. I’ve had people break down in tears when they realise what they’ve been doing to themselves unwittingly.”

But those people have been able to leave the workshop on the road to recovery, their confidence renewed when they understand just how their brain has often been undermining them. It’s the same with the process that we follow to make decisions. There are two distinct mechanisms available to use, each intended for different situation, but we often use the wrong one – with disastrous results.

“Knowing what your brain will do in those situations helps you cope. We will spend part of the workshop considering what happens in your brain and how to get the best outcome every time,” she says.

“Neuroscience is helping us to understand things about the brain that we never knew, but it’s also allowing us to get the scientific certainty for things we always knew intuitively but could never put out finger on. The great news for all of us though, and especially managers in business, is that you don’t have to understand the research to benefit from the science and derive that dividend almost immediately.”

Whether you’re under stress or want to stop stressing your staff; struggling with your confidence or battling with indecision, these days in October could be the watershed of your year – in fact you might want to take the whole week off and spend it at Henley Business School Africa. Whether it’s one day, two days or five, we’re looking forward to hearing from you and hosting you.